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After facing pass-happy spread offenses in four of their past seven games, CSU’s defenders are looking forward to matching up against a traditional power running team Saturday.

Although UNLV (2-8, 2-3 Mountain West Conference) throws for an average of 229.0 yards a game, their offense is built around the running of juniors Tim Cornett and Bradley Randle. Cornett averages 104.2 rushing yards a game, and Randle chips in 53.6. Both average better than 4.7 yards a carry while sharing carries at running back and lining up behind a fullback in a standard two-back offense.

“You love playing teams that like to run the ball,” said CSU linebacker James Skelton, a senior. “It’s kind of back to the basics and back to the fundamentals, so I love games like this.”

It’s a big change from what the Rams were seeing just a few weeks back. In one four-game stretch the faces three of the top 35 passing teams in the nation – No. 9 San Jose State (328.6 passing yards a game), No. 13 Fresno State (317.2) and No. 35 Utah State (275.9). And five of their past seven opponents are among the top 36 teams in the country this week in passing efficiency.

Now, they get to test themselves against the kind of traditional offense used by the University of Colorado and Hawaii, the two teams they’ve beaten this season. Although they’re giving up an average of 213.9 rushing yards a game, putting them at No. 108 out of the nation’s 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in that category, linebackers coach Tim Skipper likes the way the Rams match up against more traditional offenses like UNLV’s.

It plays to the strengths of CSU’s veteran linebackers, Shaquil Barrett, who can line up one the line of scrimmage and us his hands and strength to fight off blockers, and Skelton, who is at his best against two-back offenses that use zone and power blocking schemes.

“If you’re a football player, a defensive football player, you like to play against these types of teams that are going to try to pound you, take the heart out of you,” Skipper said. “It’s nothing cute, it’s old-school football. You see who the bigger man is. It’ll be fun.”

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CONNECTIONS — There are numerous connections between the UNLV and CSU coaching staffs, beginning at the top. UNLV coach Bobby Hauck and CSU’s Jim McElwain are both Montana natives, whose fathers were longtime coaches and school administrators in the Treasure State.

McElwain’s father, Frank, landed his first coaching job at Sweet Grass High School in Big Timber, Mont., Hauck’s hometown. And Hauck spent two years as an assistant coach in the late 1980s and eight years more recently as the head coach at the University of Montana in McElwain’s hometown of Missoula.

UNLV offensive coordinator Brent Myers was McElwain’s roommate and center in college at Eastern Washington, where McElwain was a quarterback.

CSU receiver Dominique Vinson and UNLV quarterback Sean Reilly, both seniors, were teammates at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., and CSU defensive lineman Calvin Tonga and UNLV defensive back Dre Crawford were teammates two years ago at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz. Saddleback and Arizona Western are both junior colleges.

Alex Novosel, a redshirt freshman offensive lineman at UNLV and the only Colorado product on the UNLV roster, attended Chatfield High in Littleton, the same high school as Skelton.

HOME SWEET HOME — Although the Rams are just 1-3 at home this season, the home team has won the past four games in the UNLV-CSU series. The last win for the visitors was a 48-23 victory by CSU in 2007 in Las Vegas.

STOPPING SKIDS — CSU snapped a six-game losing streak with a 42-27 win two weeks ago over Hawaii in its last home game. UNLV ended a five-game skid last week with a 35-7 win at home over New Mexico.

The Rams have lost 15 of their past 17 games, while UNLV has dropped 13 of 15 since beating CSU 38-35 last year in Las Vegas.

EXTRA GAME — The Rebels will play 13 games this year, thanks to an NCAA rule that allows teams that play at Hawaii to schedule an extra regular-season game to help recoup the costs of making that trip. Hawaii, a football-only member of the Mountain West Conference, also pays travel subsidies for league games of $175,000 for teams traveling to Honolulu from the Mountain Time Zone and $150,000 for those coming from the Pacific Time Zone.

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Although the MW will not release next year’s schedule until the spring, CSU is expected to play a game next year at Hawaii.

FRESH QBS — Three freshmen quarterbacks will start for MW teams this week, with UNLV’s Nick Sherry and CSU’s Conner Smith, both redshirt freshmen, matching up at Hughes Stadium. Sherry has been the Rebels’ starter all season and has thrown for 2,290 yards and 14 TDs with 12 interceptions. Smith began the year as CSU’s No. 3 quarterback but moved into the starting lineup two games back because of injuries to sophomore Garrett Grayson (broken left collarbone) and senior M.J. McPeek (left shoulder). Smith has thrown for 606 yards and three touchdowns, with four interceptions, in three games.

New Mexico’s Cole Gautsche, a true freshman, will make his third start this Saturday in a home game against Wyoming. Gautsche has thrown for just 14 passes, completing five, for 67 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. But he’s run for 498 yards and five touchdowns on 66 carries while directing the Lobos’ triple-option offense.